Admissions Procedure

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Children are eligible to start at St Sophia’s School the term following their fourth birthday. Pupils are usually admitted to the junior school in September, although there is a small January intake. GCSE and A-Level pupils can be admitted in the summer term also. Registration for entry in September is open from the previous September and closes at the end of March. Late submissions will be considered if there are places remaining.

St Sophia’s School is a very popular school, which admits children from a wide area. Parents who wish their children to attend the school should complete an online pre-registration form and pay a pre-registration fee of £20. The Headmistress offers guided tours to prospective parents and pupils by prior arrangement. When places are oversubscribed, children are accepted on a first come, first served basis. Parents are therefore strongly advised to register their child as early as possible in order to place them on the waiting list from which places are subsequently offered.

In the summer term prior to the beginning of the school year, when the child is expected to start at St Sophia’s school, parents will be informed by the Registrar whether they have been offered a place. Parents who would like to take up the offer of the place are asked to complete an online Registration Form together with a Medical record, and pay a deposit of £200. This constitutes a formal contract between the school and parents. The deposit is fully refundable when a pupil leaves the school or is withdrawn with a full term’s notice. If the full term’s notice has not been given, the term’s fees will be retained and the remainder of the deposit will be returned to the parents. In the event of a pupil not taking up the offer of a place after the deposit has been paid, the school will retain a 30% administrative fee and will return the remainder to the parents.

Children are usually admitted to the Nursery or Reception classes, although occasionally a place becomes available in other classes in which case a pupil may join the school at a higher level. In the junior school, age is the major determining factor in deciding where to place a pupil, while students joining the senior school (the two GCSE and two A-Level classes) are placed according to ability.